1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to ground filtering. More specifically, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods that generate filtered, three-dimensional digital ground models.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Recent years have seen a proliferation in utilization of digital ground imaging and modeling. Indeed, partly as a result of reduced costs associated with capturing digital aerial images and terrain data via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), businesses and individuals now have increased access to images and models that may have been cost prohibitive to generate in the past. For example, businesses can now utilize one or more UAVs to capture digital terrain information with regard to a construction site, a mining site, a wilderness area, or some other site at a relatively low-cost compared to previous years.
In many applications, however, individuals and businesses capture terrain data that includes unwanted objects or features. For example, an individual may capture a three-dimensional representation of a site that includes vehicles, machinery, people, structures, vegetation or other objects. Some common modeling systems include filters that attempt to remove such unwanted objects and produce digital models that include only ground information (i.e., “ground filters”).
Common modeling systems utilizing ground filters, however, frequently over-filter or under-filter pertinent digital information. For example, common systems may over-filter by removing wanted objects (e.g., points reflecting the ground) rather than unwanted objects (e.g., a vehicle). Similarly, common systems may under-filter by failing to remove unwanted objects (e.g., leaving a building in the model).
Moreover, some common modeling systems utilize ground filters that are only accurate with regard to certain types of terrain. For instance, some traditional systems remove unwanted objects from a ground model on flat terrain, but fail to do so with regard to hilly or mountainous terrain. Such limitations are particularly troublesome in modeling a large site that includes both flat and sloped terrain. In such applications, common systems often fail to accurately filter unwanted objects and produce an accurate digital ground model.
These and other problems exist with regard to generating digital ground models.